Staunton teen eliminated in fifth round

A word identifying a religion originally practiced in Cuba identifying Yoruba deities with Roman Catholic saints tripped up Staunton teen Andrew Traylor in the fifth round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Traylor, 14, requested a definition of the word before asking whether the word contained the root “santa,“ meaning saint. After receiving that confirmation, he spelled the word, “S-A-N-T-A-R-I-L-L-A.“ After a second’s pause, the bell rang, indicating a misspelled word. After hearing the correct spelling, Traylor nodded his head and said “thank you” before walking off the stage.

His family, including his parents Steve and Pamela, as well as 12-year old sister Sarah, were among those in the crowd applauding his efforts.

Andrew started off the semifinals in a “devious,“ but successful way.

He approached the podium, smiling to the judges and telling them, “good morning.“

After hearing the word “louche” - meaning devious, peverse, sinister - and learning that it has a near homonym, Andrew asked for the word to be used in a sentence.

Upon hearing that, Andrew asked if the language of origin was French, something he stated was not his strong suit.

The judge explained that the word’s origin was “Latin to French.“

Andrew then spelled the word correctly - “L-O-U-C-H-E,“ with applause coming from his parents and sister.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee semifinal round began today with 41 participants. The semifinals are being broadcast on ESPN.

One of the friends he has made during the bee, Serena Skye Laine-Lobsinger correctly spelled the word “agrestic” in this round and was interviewed backstage afterward.

Five of the 41 spellers misspelled their words in the fourth round, while another 20 spellers were eliminated in the fifth round, leaving 16 to compete for the national bee championship.